Home improvements.

All Wet

Changing The Space And Taste In Two Bathrooms

Since they purchased their spacious, airy house in far south suburban Manhattan eight years ago, Nina and Allen Sparks have always been, well, perplexed, about the home's second full bathroom.

Built to serve the three large secondary bedrooms in the home, the bathroom is housed in a room that's roughly 12 by 14 feet-a space bigger than the smallest bedroom.

The real quandary about the bathroom, however, is the large dark brown tub that takes up nearly half of the room. "It's not a whirlpool tub and it takes literally an hour to fill it up," said Allen Sparks.

"People feel like they can do the crawl in it," added Nina Sparks.

Meanwhile, a toilet is wedged into the corner as is a double bowl sink. There is no shower stall.

Empty nesters, the Sparks added a couple of shower heads to the bathtub to make it more functional for guests. Because of the size of the tub, however, there is no way a shower curtain can surround the tub.

"As a result, guests are reluctant to use it because they're worried about water getting everywhere," said Nina.

Aesthetics is another problem. The bathroom has the atmosphere that feels like a cross between the Poconos and Elvis' Graceland: Mirrored panels nearly cover the entire outside wall over the bathtub, allowing guests a widescreen view of their bathing. "Most of our guests have been embarrassed by the mirror," said Nina.

A jungle motif wallpaper covers the remaining walls and is "enhanced" by a brown shag carpeting. Plaster castings of a lion, lioness and tiger, meanwhile, guard the front of the tub. As a joke, the Sparks have kept the trio in place since they bought the home.

"We thought the bathroom was funny until we moved in," said Nina. "Then we realized how unworkable of a bathroom it was."

Mini master

Meanwhile, the Sparks have always been frustrated with the configuration and space allotted to the master bathroom one room over.

While the second bathroom is the size of a bedroom, the master bathroom has more the feel of a closet. A shower stall has been literally tucked behind a toilet, making access awkward, and a nine-foot-long double-bowl sink lines a wall.

Aesthetics are also a problem here for the Sparks, especially the olive green double-bowl sink. "The sink not only looks bad but it's insane being nine feet long," said Nina.

What the Sparks would like to do is to make both bathrooms more functional. To help the couple sort out their bathroom befuddlement, we asked Orland Park-based architect Michelle Gillette to offer some advice.

Gillette's first suggestion was to move the wall between the two adjoining bathrooms to add space to the master bathroom. "Then I would gut just about everything from the two rooms because none of this works, and start from scratch," she said.

Gillette recommended moving the adjoining wall five feet into the guest bathroom, which would add about 60 square feet to the master bathroom. Moving the wall would also place one of the guest bathroom windows into the master bathroom, giving it more natural light.

"That sounds fine because we'd be willing to sacrifice space in the second bathroom," said Nina.

"The guest bathroom would still be a big room for a second bathroom, and, in fact, quite comfortable," said Gillette.

The next challenge, said the architect, would be the plumbing. Designing the two new bathrooms will be somewhat limited by where the existing drain pipes and vents stacks are located.

In the guest bathroom, Gillette suggested adding a standard tub and shower, a double-bowl sink and a toilet with a small privacy wall built around it. "We could keep the existing linen closets and because the size of the room would still be large, your guests could use the bathroom as a dressing area," said Gillette.

While the guest bathroom would be fairly standard, the master bathroom could be reconfigured to be a bit more upscale.

One idea Gillette had was breaking the L-shaped room into two adjoining rooms, creating a small closet for the toilet for privacy and a "his" sink on one side of the room. On the other side of the room would be a shower stall, a whirpool tub and a "hers" sink.

"That way two people could use the bathroom simultaneously without bumping into each other and still maintain some privacy," said Gillette.

"That would be nice," said Nina. "It would be like having two bathrooms in one."

"The wall between these two areas wouldn't have to go all the way up to the ceiling," added Gillette. "Columns could hide vents and pipes and on the ledge above you could do some nice things with plants and lighting."

Another choice

If the Sparks wanted to add some drama to the bathroom, Gillette suggested raising the ceiling for a cathedral ceiling effect.

A second floor plan would keep the room intact and use a double-bowl sink instead of two single-bowl sinks. That plan would allow for a built-in dressing table that Nina was hoping to add.